The present invention relates generally to animal feeding systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to an automated system adapted to be installed within an animal feeding enclosure to stimulate animal feeding and growth by periodically simulating a human figure.
In the prior art a variety of automated systems have been employed for feeding animals. Most known prior art devices dispense feed at predetermined feed locations within an enclosure at periodic intervals. Some prior art systems of the latter type additionally dispense measured amounts of feed. Examples of such technology may be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,352,286; 3,545,408; 3,485,215; and 3,904,082.
Examples of structure adapted to stimulate animal movement for training or exercising purposes may be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,312,195 and 3,349,751. U.S. Pat. No. 4,167,153 discloses a method for moving poultry within an enclosure by transporting a baffle from a track structure for urging poultry toward a feeding position.
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the object of large scale poultry raising operations is to produce maximum amounts of matured chickens of appropriate weight within limited times. We have discovered that chickens which are periodically exposed to the apparent movement of a human being within a feeding enclosure tend to eat more, and thus present more advantageous weight "profiles" prior to processing and cleaning. Young chicks will quickly rise and move about an enclosure in response to the sight and sound of a human figure therewithin. Chicks or other animals periodically exposed to an apparent human figure will be encouraged to eat at regular intervals more effectively than they would without the stimulus of a "human figure".
It has been found, for example, that for the most efficient feeding of typical birds, feed must stay in the animal for approximately three and one half hours. Therefore, it seems advantageous to provide a system for stimulating birds which will operate in a timed fashion to periodically stimulate the birds to eat, but which will allow the birds sufficient time to digest previously eaten food for an opimum period of time. Experimental data derived in our tests clearly indicate that the "weight profiles" of birds grown in an enclosure subjected to timed, automated stimulation exceed weight profiles of "unstimulated" birds. Similar evidence mandates appropriate timing for optimum results with a "simulation" system.